Hewlett-packard Company

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

John C Faick

Eric R Ehlers

Ajay A Prabhu

Ronald J Hogan, Jr

M D Sohigian

Kenneth A Richter

The invention provides a true average, wide dynamic range microwave power sensor using a diode-stack-attenuator diode stack technology. The invention provides a diode stack microwave power sensor which includes an RF signals receiver having wide dynamic power ranges; a low power sensor path connected between the receiver and ground for sensing relatively low power RF input signals. The low power sensor path includes one or more stacked RF diodes in which a number of diode pairs may be coupled to ground through respective capacitors. An impedance network including attenuating resistors R,and R,are connected in series between the receiver and ground. A high power sensor path is connected in parallel between the attenuating resistors R,and R,and ground for sensing attenuated relatively high power RF input signals. The high sensor path includes a second stacked RF diode in which a second number of stacked diode pairs are coupled to ground through a respective capacitor, and in which the sensor diode operates in the square law region and senses the power levels over the wide dynamic ranges of the received RF signals.

True average wide dynamic range microwave power sensor using diode stack attenuator-diode stack

A method and apparatus for using an AC detection network analyzer with either a pulsed RF or a CW source signal is disclosed. An AC/DC detector is placed between an AC detection network analyzer and a device under test. If a source signal is a pulsed RF signal the AC/DC detector can be switched to transform the pulsed RF signal to produce an AC signal for the network analyzer. If the signal source is a CW signal, the AC/DC detector can be switched to rectify the CW signal, modulate the CW signal, sample the CW signal, and filter the CW signal. This will also produce the AC signal for the network analyzer.

Apparatus and method for utilizing an AC detection scalar network

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Santa Rosa, CA, United States of America

John C Faick